Dispensing spout



July 5, 1966 R. C. HUG 3,259,360

DISPENSING SPOUT Original Filed Oct. 5, 1962 l 1 II W IN VENTOR.

E1 AIZD C. H G. FIG. I BY United States Patent 3,259,360 DISPENSINGSPOUT Richard C. Hug, St. Louis, Mo., assignor to The ClaytonCorporation of Delaware, St. Louis, Mo., a corporation of DelawareOriginal application Oct. 5, 1962, Ser. No. 228,623, now Patent No.3,199,150, dated Aug. 10, 1965. Divided and this application Jan. 8,1965, Ser. No. 432,925 1 Claim. (Cl. 251-303) This is a division ofapplication Serial No. 228,623, filed October 5, 1962, now Patent No.3,199,150, issued August 10, 1965.

This invention relates to pressure dispenser valves of the typeutilizing a rubber seal mounting member and having a metering floworifice.

In such valves, it has been conventional to utilize a large diameterhollow in the dispensing spout, and to drill, punch or mold a smalllateral metering orifice through the stem into the spout. As applied tothose valves which operate by tilting, this is particularlyunsatisfactory, for the direction of tilt may determine to what extentthe flow of product to be dispensed reaches a metering orifice which maybe only partly uncovered from the surrounding rubber seal. Regardlesshow the valve is to be operated, whether by tilting or pushing down,when a drilled or punched metering orifice is used, an extra shopoperation is necessary, which adds to the manufacturing cost.

A purpose of the present invention includes providing an improvedmetering valving spout whose stem has flow openings so large as to avoidrestriction even though only partially opened when tilted in a rubberseal. A further purpose is to provide for cleaning out material whichmay clog its metering orifice.

The present invention, as it relates to the valving spout member,consists generally in providing a valving spout with a large lateralflow passage having a top wall penetrated by a needle-thin metering borewhich leads upward into the center of the spout, and having a bottomwall including a needle-thin blind clean-out recess in registration withthe metering bore.

In the accompanying drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevation of the valve stem, assembled withcooperating valve members shown in section. FIGURE 2 is a sectional viewtaken along line 2-2 of FIGURE 1.

The type of valving assembly with which the present invention isadvantageously utilized is shown in FIGURE 1. The container top member ahas a central elevated dome b including a flat, centrally apertured dometop 0 through whose aperture a valve spout member generally designatedprojects. Such spout member 10 is mounted in a rubber sealing washer dwhich is clamped against the dome top c by the top flange e of a plasticmolded adaptor or nipple 1, through whose bottom inlet g the containercontents flow to the valve spout member 10. A compression spring 11,based within the adaptor f and whose top coil surrounds a bottom guideprojection 11 of the spout member 10, urges it upward and thus restoresit to closed, sealed position if tilted or depressed.

The valve spout member 10 is formed integrally by molding plasticmaterial of sufiicient rigidity to permit such tilting or depressing.Except for its ports and the lateral flow passage 17 which they form,the member 10 is generally symmetrical about its axis xx. It includes,as its upper portion, a tubular stem 12 which serves as a dispensingspout, whose outer wall may include an enlarged lower cylindricalportion 13, preferably molded without any parting line. Below the wallportion 13, the valve spout member 10 has an inward groove 14interrupted by two relatively large, oppositely disposed flow 3,259,360Patented July 5, 1966 openings or ports 15 having side walls 16 whichmay taper inward slightly as shown for purposes of molding. The two flowopenings 15 joined at the center of the valve spout member 10 to providetogether a lateral flow passage 17, having a bottom wall 18 and a topwall 19.

The bottom wall 18 demarks the upper inperforate end of a valve headportion 20 which is of substantially larger diameter than the lowercylindrical portion 13, and seats against the under surface of thesealing washer d.

The tubular stem 12 has an outlet bore 21 extending along the axis xxfrom its upper end down to a level somewhat above the lateral flowpassage top wall 19. Thence inwardly, there is provided a tapering boreportion 22 which narrows to a metering bore 23 immediately above thelevel of the flow passage top wall 19. The metering bore 23 providesflow communication from the lateral flow passage 17 to the outlet bore21. The crosssectional area of the metering bore 23 may be needlethin,while the flow openings 15 are of much greater area. This fact, plusflow communication by means of the groove 14 when the valve spout member10 is tilted, results in full flow to the metering bore 23, unaffectedby degree or direction of tilt. This result is in contrast to priorconstructions in which a single metering orifice through the side wallof a stern, whether formed by molding or drilling, might be onlypartially uncovered on tilting, resulting in reduced rate of flowthrough the orifice.

The bottom wall 18 of the flow passage 17 has a blind clean-out recessor depression 24 in registration with the metering bore 23 along theaxis x-x. The recess 24 has an upper bore portion 25 whose diameter isno greater than that of the needle-thin metering bore 23;; and from itsupper bore portion 25 it tapers to a pointed recess bottom 26.

Should anything clog the metering bore 23, such clogging is readilyrelieved by pressing an ordinary needle axially inward into the outletbore 21. Such needles tip will be guided by the tapering bore portion 22to and through the metering bore 23, and it will press the cloggingmaterial axially downward. Material not broken up or reoriented may bepacked into the tapering bore 26 of the clean-out recess 24. Forclean-out purposes, therefore, a needle will be chosen whose diameter issmaller than the metering bore 23.

The valve here described is suitable for a. variety of purposes, some ofwhich may involve taflixing to the tip of the spout member 10, asupplementary actuator or sprayhead including a passage whose diametermay be less than that of the outlet bore 21. In the claim the termoutlet bore refers to the outlet bore of the stem 21 and not to any suchsupplementary member.

Minor modifications which will be apparent to those familiar with theart, and within the scope of the claim, are included herein; and thepresent invention is not to be construed narrowly, but rather as fullycoextensive with the claim.

I claim:

As part of a pressure dispenser valve of the type utilizing a rubberseal mounting member,

a valving spout member including a valve head portion,

a stem portion outwardly of the head portion, said stem portion having alateral flow passage connecting a plurality of flow openings and havinga bottom wall and a top wall, the stern portion further having aneedle-thin metering bore into substantially the center of the flowpassage top wall forming a constriction at the center of the stem, andan outlet bore of greater diameter than the metering bore communicatingtherewith, and leading outwardly through the spout member,

said flow passage and each of its flow openings being of greatercross-sectional area, when measured across References Cited by theExaminer,

the path of flow, than the metering bore, and its bottom and top wallsbeing of substantially greater UNITED STATES PATENTS Width than thediameter of said bore, 2,631,814 3/1953 Abplanalp 251353 the bottom wallof the lateral fioW passage having a 5 2,750,230 6/1956 fi et X blindclean-out recess in registration with said me'ter- 2,914,224 11/1959Mlchel 222 394 ing bore, a said clean-out recess having a diameter nogreater than CARY NELSON lma'y Exammer' that of a metering bore. H.KLINKSIEK, Assistant Examiner.

